Beresford, Bruce (1940-…), is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He helped lead a revival of the Australian film industry during the 1970’s. He later achieved success directing in the United States. Beresford’s powerful antiwar drama Breaker Morant (1980) is considered a landmark in the history of the Australian cinema. Beresford’s American film Driving Miss Daisy won the 1989 Academy Award as best picture of the year.
Beresford was born in Sydney on Aug. 16, 1940. He studied at the University of Sydney, where he did amateur filmmaking, and graduated in 1962. He moved to London in the early 1960’s and worked at the British Film Institute from 1966 to 1971. Returning to Australia, Beresford made his first feature film, The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972). The commercial success of the comedy led to a sequel, Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974). Beresford was co-screenwriter for both films. His other Australian movies include Don’s Party (1976), The Getting of Wisdom (1977), Money Movers (1978), The Club (1980), Puberty Blues (1981), and Mao’s Last Dancer (2009).
The international success of Breaker Morant brought Beresford offers to direct in Hollywood. His American films include Tender Mercies (1983), The Fringe Dwellers (1986), Crimes of the Heart (1986), Mister Johnson (1990), Rich in Love (1993), Last Dance (1996), Paradise Road (1997), Double Jeopardy (1999), and Evelyn (2002). In 2016, he directed an episode of the American television miniseries Roots, a remake of the famous 1977 TV miniseries. In 2000, Beresford directed the Los Angeles Opera production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto.
